Asia-Pacific markets largely fell on Thursday as Wall Street digested the latest ADP private payrolls report, which showed slowing job growth in March.
India’s central bank held its benchmark interest rate, or its policy repurchase rate, at 6.50%, defying expectations for the Reserve Bank of India to hike 25 basis points. The Indian rupee weakened 0.15% shortly after the announcement.
The Nifty 50 gained 0.26% – an outlier as benchmark indexes across the region continued to see declines.
South Korea’s Kospi led losses in the region as it closed 1.44% down at 2,459.23, and the Kosdaq dropped 0.78% to finish at 865.58. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 1.22% to end the day at 27,472.63 and the Topix lost 1.14% to close at 1,961.28.
The Australian S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.36% to end at 7,219. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was trading 0.28% higher, while the Hang Seng Tech index rose 0.1%.
Both Australia and Hong Kong markets will conclude their trading weeks on Thursday, as their markets will be closed for a holiday on Friday.
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite was down marginally and closed at 3,312.63, while the Shenzhen Component was up marginally to end at 11,866.31.
Overnight in the U.S. the Nasdaq Composite recorded a third straight losing session, shedding 1.07%, while the broad-based S&P 500 dipped 0.25. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, was bolstered by an outperformance by health-care stocks to close 0.24% higher.